Hainan Island Vital Statistics

Location: East Asia; Latitude 19°; Longitude 109°.

Dimensions and area of island: 260 km at East to West; 210 km North to South; 33,920 square kilometers.

Climate: Tropical monsoonal; Annual temperature dynamic ~15°C; Coldest Months - January and February (~17°C), Warmest months - July and August (~32°C); Rainfall ~ 1000 - 2000 mm depending on locality i.e. coast or inland. 70% of this is derived from monsoon rains.

Cities: Haikou, Wenchang, Qionghai, Wanning, WuzhiShan, Sanya, Dongfang and Danzhou.

Population: 8,180,000.

Trade goods: Iron, titanium, manganese, tungsten, bauxite, molybdenum, cobalt, copper, gold, silver, teak, sandalwood, rice, coconuts, pineapples, black pepper, cashews, coffee, tea and sugarcane, grouper, spanish mackeral, tuna, shrimp, scallops and pearls.

Natural History: Rainforest exists in the central highlands, elsewhere it is patchy due to previous logging activities. One of the worlds most endangered species, the Hainan gibbon, lives within the central forest. Less than 10% of the islands original forest remains.

Fringing coral reefs surround the Island to the south due to the shallow, warm, clear and well lit waters. Notable visitors to these reefs include the endangered hawksbill turtle and green turtle.

Hainan, being relatively isolated, has numerous endemic species, including 8 plants, 2 mammals (Hainan moonrat and the Hainan flying squirrel) and 2 birds (Hainan leaf warbler and the Hainan partridge) as well as several invertebrates. There are also many endemic subspecies. For more details cick this link.

I have set this blog up so people around the world may see what Hainan Island has to offer in terms of wildlife. I am heading to Hainan to work with Hainan Adventures, an outdoor education resort that organizes activities and excursions for school children. The company emphasizes the importance of respecting the environment and has in turn employed a "leave no trace" attitude. Interestingly, the company has close ties to the local turtle conservation project "Turtle 911" which rescues, researches and protects the visiting turtle species (green turtles and hawksbill turtles).

The island boasts tropical greenery as well as shallow coastal waters dotted with coral reefs, consequently the island boasts many interesting animal and plant species. During my time on Hainan I will try and document the wildlife, being a marine biologist graduate I will be focusing on the marine environment, although I will be making forays into the rainforest to observe life amongst the trees as well as within rivers.

I will be departing on 20/10/09 for eight months. This gives me a month from now to do some background reading on the animals I can expect to find on and around the Island. It is my understanding that human activity on the island is severe and I am expecting to find a fairly impoverished environment in terms of biodiversity in comparison to the state I could have found several hundred years ago. I will be observing the influence of human activities on the islands environment.

This blog has been assigned with a future date so it remains at the top of my postings!

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